Isaiah Rider streaked down the court with his hands raised
in victory as he headed to the locker room, sporting a
smile that was part confident smirk and part boyish grin.
A scene from his Saturday dominance over the Phoenix
Suns? A reaction to his Monday night 40-foot buzzer
beater, which ended the first quarter of game two?
Nope, this was Friday practice. The day before
the playoffs started. A time when the slumping Blazers
could have been second-guessing their early-season dominance.
Rider, however, was in no mood for doubts.
"I won!" he yelled to reporters waiting to question
him about the team's poor pre-playoff performance. "I
beat Walt Williams."
To many fans, the idea that Rider, on the eve of the
playoffs, would delight in edging out a teammate in
a post-practice shooting contest might seem odd. After
all, isn't this the Blazers' bad boy? The moody guard
who got caught smoking pot, drag racing and carrying
illegal cell phones? The player known best for being
perpetually late and chronically suspended?
But for those who've followed the team closely all
season, it's a scenario that's becoming more and more
common for Rider.
Ever since Minnesota practically gave him to the Blazers
in 1996, Rider has been vilified by reporters and fans.
For two years that negative image was more prominent
than the thin beard that fades into his face. But in
this strike-shortened season he's doing something new:
He's smiling--on and off the court, regardless of what
people say.
"I just said, 'To heck with it.' It's time for me to
be happy. It's time for me to enjoy this game and not
let anyone's feelings dictate how I feel the next day
coming into work," Rider says. "I've just got to be
myself and be happy right now."
Rider says teammates, coaches and even president Bob
Whitsitt have encouraged him to just to be himself and
not worry about what ends up in the newspapers.
He's taken the advice to heart, establishing himself
as one of the most accessible guys on the team. Unlike
Stacey Augmon, who generally refuses interview requests,
Rider routinely answers questions no matter the situation.
"I'm very approachable, and from day one it's been
a cruel situation," Rider says. "I understand reporters
have to report on what they think people want to hear,
but it's hard for me to be so open and so easy to talk
to when they try their best to keep a negative on my
name."
Make no mistake, Rider is still moody. He'll analyze
some questions cautiously, conjure sarcastic answers
to others and simply ignore the ones he doesn't want
to answer. But unlike Damon Stoudamire and Arvydas Sabonis,
who often make the dash from shower to car without talking
to the media, Rider will almost always give reporters
a shot at him--and they rarely miss the chance to take
one.
On May 6, for example, The Oregonian columnist
Dwight Jaynes wrote, "The Blazers have had a surprisingly
good year, particularly in light of all the Isaiah Rider
stuff swirling around the edges. Rider's problems were
just about the only negatives to be found all season."
Even after scoring 25 points in Saturday's victory,
Rider was grilled by the post-game media mob: Had he
been unfocused during the last few games of the season?
Wasn't his behavior distracting to the team. "It's not
distracting to us," he replied with a smile. "It's distracting
to you."
If anything, Rider has been on his best behavior this
year. Sure, there have been three suspensions and a
celebrated speeding ticket. And, yes, he's still got
what Whitsitt likes to call a "time-management problem."
But teammates dismiss the repeated questions about
Rider being a negative influence on the team, and there's
a 1999 Pacific Division Championship banner to be hung
from the Rose Garden rafters to prove it.
"People can say whatever they want about this guy,
but whatever mistakes he makes, he owns up to," Walt
Williams says. "Anything that affects this team that
he's done, he's stood up for and apologized. It takes
a big man to do that."
Rider says he tries not to be defensive. But perhaps
he's a product of an environment in which negatives
are highlighted and positives downplayed. "You don't
want to let things bother you, but we all have feelings,"
he says. "I wasn't happy with the way things were going
around here, the way people were trying kick me out
of town. I didn't appreciate that."
This season could change that. Rider, who tugs on his
jersey and raises his arms to excite the Blazer fans,
may have found the one sure way to shed his bad-boy
image. "I can't change anything overnight," he says,
"but if we win, people's perceptions change. I'm associated
with winning and everything else that goes along with
it."
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Willamette Week | originally
published May 12, 1999
